We are glad to announce that Friends of the Island Fox (FIF) is joining the CIR family. FIF is a group which supports efforts to preserve and protect the island fox (Urocyon littoralis) on the California Channel Islands through conservation and education programs. FIF became a key component in the efforts to help restore the number of island foxes when they were threatened with extinction.
Today, Island Foxes throughout the Channel Islands are no longer endangered, which is thanks in part to the help of FIF and their supporters. Now FIF will continue their conservation efforts as a program of CIR.
On January 1st of 2018, Friends of the Island Fox became a program of Channel Islands Restoration and are now under our 501(c)(3) umbrella. It’s a great match between our two organizations. Channel Islands Restoration has been working for a long time to restore habitat for plants and animals on the Channel Islands (including the Island Foxes of course), in addition to working in classrooms and communities to promote environmental education.
Meanwhile, Friends of the Island Fox have been working to support Island Fox conservation and research, in addition to putting on educational programs regarding island foxes and their relationship to ecosystems of the Channel Islands. We’re looking forward to working directly with them to help advance both of our missions.
Friends of the Island Fox is a joint effort of conservation professionals and concerned private citizens striving to create public awareness about the island fox and to raise funds to support education, research and conservation measures to ensure the island fox’s continued survival.
They help fund radio monitoring collars and identification microchips on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Catalina.
They assist with annual health checks and vaccinations for island foxes to combat rabies and canine distemper. They have installed fox-proof boxes at island campgrounds and also maintain “Watch for Foxes” road signs on Santa Catalina to reduce casualties due to cars. FIF also provides presentations to community groups, educators, and students regarding the endangered island fox and its important relationship with the Channel Island ecosystem.
We’re looking forward to working with Friends of the Island Fox to ensure that island foxes never return to the endangered species list and have healthy habitat to thrive for centuries to come.